AT&T

Yet another snafu in AT&T Wireless' public relations efforts has surfaced. Customers interested in purchasing an iPhone via the company's website in the New York area are finding that the product isn't listed.

Zip codes in New York City, northern New Jersey and Westchester County have had the iPhone removed as an option for online purchase. Representatives of AT&T have simply stated that distribution and promotion channels are periodically changed.

The exclusive US carrier for Apple's iPhone has released an application devoted to reporting problems with their network. AT&T will even send a free SMS to confirm receipt of your feedback.

The exact latitude and longitude of the occurrence along with specifics of the problem are sent directly from the application. The main menu offers options including Dropped Call, Failed Call, No Coverage, Data Failure and Poor Voice Quality.

This may come as no surprise to iPhone owners: AT&T ranks last out of the four major service carriers when it comes to customer satisfaction. Consumer Reports surveyed 50,000 wireless subscribers in 26 cities for the annual report.

Speculation has been rampant over a Verizon Wireless iPhone, however a simpler path for Apple to expand its iPhone market would be to offer the device to T-Mobile. Doug Reid, an analyst at Thomas Weisel, sees this move as a logical step.

Apple already offers the iPhone through Germany's T-Mobile unit (T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telekom). The carrier has compatible wireless technology to AT&T and wouldn't require any hardware changes to the iPhone, unlike any move to Verizon Wireless.

Fans of other wireless carriers can rejoice. The end is near for AT&T's exclusive deal with Apple to offer the iPhone in the US. Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall claims the expiration date is June 2010.

AT&T is said to be in negotiations to extend the deal through 2011. The iPhone deal could be of even greater importance to the carrier since Verizon will have LTE (4G) technology up and running in 20-30 markets in 2010.

Eight second ping times? If you don't know what that means, just think "real slow." A normal ping time over the 3G network should be around 200 milliseconds (that's 40 times faster than eight seconds).

Why do some connections initiate right away while others take eight seconds or longer? Telecom blogger Brough Turner has researched the problem and explained that AT&T's network configuration could be to blame.

AT&T has reported their best and biggest quarter of iPhone activations to date, with 3.2 million iPhones activated in the third quarter of 2009. Shares of AT&T jumped following the initial release of the news, but have since declined, despite AT&T reporting better-than-expected per share earnings.

AT&T has wagered heavily on its relationship with Apple and the iPhone, and it has paid off. Many analysts site the iPhone as the single biggest reason for the telecom giant's continued strength in a down turned economy.

How about making iPhone calls on your own personal cell tower? AT&T has test launched its femtocell solution for individual users, dubbed the MicroCell. This device is compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

MicroCell data speeds will be slower than the 7.2 Mbps the iPhone 3GS is capable of delivering, however they will achieve 3.2 Mbps, matching standard 3G speeds. The device allows users to make calls and send text messages using a 5,000 square foot local 3G network.

This Friday AT&T is expected to text its iPhone customers in groups every hour, notifying them that MMS is finally ready for action on their iPhone. Some reports have indicated this process could start as early as 10AM Eastern Time.

MMS will be activated by a carrier settings update from iTunes. The service will make it possible to send photos and videos along with text to other mobile devices without using email. MMS will not be supported on the original (2G) iPhone.

With the upcoming late release of MMS for the iPhone, AT&T is struggling to maintain a positive image with its subscribers. Reports have suggested their latest efforts will either come under the category of "too little, too late" or "my iPhone has more features on AT&T."

Reports are circulating that the company is developing features for the iPhone that will be exclusive to AT&T, even after the iPhone is available on other carriers in the US. Improvements in the works mainly add features to the existing visual voicemail system.